FashionEtc.com January 12th, 2026

"There was such a wave of cheap bright color for ready-to-wear, a couture client might want a softer look," the designer says of his Chanel Spring 2011 couture collection's light color palette.

With their known-the-world-round logo prints, luxury labels are prime targets for knockoffs—but the mega brands are fighting back.

In addition to helming what's arguably the U.K.'s most successful and forward-thinking brand, the designer has been awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and two honorary doctorates (from the University of Westminster and the University of Huddersfield). And soon that number will jump to three.

Stephane Zerbib opens up about his "polite, courteous, and very human" client and blames alcohol mixed with medication for the designer's anti-Semitic outburst.